Which Grocery Store is Really the Cheapest?

If you’re poor like me, every cent counts and finding the cheapest grocery stores in town is important. I decided to do a little comparative research with nearby grocery stores and let the data tell me which chain was the cheapest. I compared 29 items that I would usually buy, ranging from eggs, to chicken, to veggies, fruit, beans, pasta, etc. I recorded the prices in 5 stores- Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Bi-Lo, Wal-Mart and Trader Joe’s. More info below, but here are the results.

My conclusion:

Harris Teeter is a bit more expensive but nice quality.

Food Lion is nicely priced but a little skanky.

Bi-Lo is expensive and silly, no thanks.

Wal-Mart is a huge big-box mart and may rule the world one day, but you can’t ignore their low prices.

Trader Joe’s is very competitive, a little more expensive, but all around better food.

I didn’t record the sale prices, but rather original prices. Some stores had better sales than the other. If you don’t see any data for that item, I didn’t see it at the store.

If you look closely, you may be surprised by some things. For example, I thought Bi-Lo was a cheap-o store, but in fact I thought it was overall the most expensive store. In some items like pineapples, broccoli and brown rice, Bi-Lo was almost double the price of other stores. Shame on you, Bi-Lo!

On the same note, I am usually anti-Wal-Mart as much as possible. I HATE shopping there. But seriously folks, look at the blue line in the chart. You will see that overall Wal-Mart is the cheaper alternative. Hate to say it, but if you’re broke, Wal-Mart just might be the way to go till ya’ get on your feet.

If you’re super anti-Wal-Mart, I think Food Lion is a nice choice. It was very competitive.

Let’s talk about Trader Joe’s. You may see that the purple line is higher or the same as the other lines. But note that a lot of their food is organic, like the wheat tortillas and strawberries for example (and often times better quality than crappy Food Lion). Some stuff was even cheaper than the other places! Trader Joe’s doesn’t necessarily give you a lot of options for each thing, but the quality is good,you know where it comes from, and it wasn’t that much more expensive.

Harris Teeter

Food Lion

Bi-Lo

Wal-Mart

Trader Joe’s

12 Large Eggs

1.79

1.45

1.69

1.56

1.69

Wheat Tortillas

1.99

2.49

1.99

2.07

1.83

Bl Chick. Brst.

2.49

4.99

4.99

3.33

2.99

Baby Spinach

2.99

2.39

3.99

2.98

1.99

2 lb. Carrots

1.47

1.69

2.4

1.66

1.89

2 lg. Portobellos

3.49

3.29

2.99

2.88

2.49

Bunch of Cilantro

0.6

0.5

0.69

0.84

1.69

Celery

1.99

1.49

1.79

1.46

1.79

Broccoli

2.49

1.09

2.49

1.5

1.79

Bell Pepper

1.79

0.99

1.29

1.28

1.16

Green Beans

2.69

2.69

0

3.97

0

Asparagus

3.99

0

3.99

2.98

4.99

Zucchini

1.99

2.19

3.49

2.48

2.99

Kale

0.99

1.29

1.49

0.98

0

Brussel Sprouts

2.99

0

0

0

2.49

Pineapple

4.99

2.99

4.49

2.88

0

Tomato

2.99

2.99

3.49

1.5

1.6

Sweet Potatoes

0.99

0.99

0.99

0.98

0.9

Avocado

1.99

0.79

1.69

0.68

1.29

Strawberries

4.99

0

0

2.5

4.49

Mango

1.59

0.99

1.58

1

1.69

Potatoes

0.99

0.79

1.19

0.88

1.19

Yellow Onions

0.99

0.79

1.29

0.74

1.49

Diced Tomatoes

1.35

1.19

0.89

0.63

1.49

Black Beans

0.79

0.79

1.09

0.68

0.89

Garbanzos

0.79

0.79

1.09

0.68

0.89

Solid Wt. Tuna

1.29

1

1.5

1.14

1.49

2 lb. Brown Rice

2.69

1.61

2.89

1.84

3.29

Wheat Pasta

1.5

1.69

1.49

1.23

1.99

About Ande Truman

Ande has made mistakes in the kitchen since she could reach the countertop. From a restaurant head cook, to cooking meals for friends, to her own solo plate, experimenting & learning drives her. She's also a freelance graphic & web designer, photo/videographer, guitar player and wanderlust-er. In her spare time, she works a full-time 8 to 5 cubicle job. She's the creator of Broke & Healthy.

The article by Mr. Adams is almost word for word of Ande’s article, even has some directly copied sentences and was written over 4 years later. Hmmmm….Mr. Adams, plagiarize much? I guess he was thinking he could get away with it since Ande’s article was older and wouldn’t still be posted? I dunno. Ande, I would investigate and follow up with a cease and desist order and have the other article removed. I copied this from Mr. Adams web page:

If you believe that any content appearing on newsoxy.com infringes on your copyright, please let us know. E-Mail feedback@newsoxy.com following information to us and the infringing material will be removed as soon as possible.

This post offers clear idea in favor of
the new users of blogging, that really how to do blogging.

Paula

December 23, 2015 at 11:32 am

I was surprised; the Food Lions in the Durham/ Raleigh area are superior to Harris Teeter.
I had expected it to be a much lower level store and I was pleasantly surprised.
Although Harris Teeter’s deli carries Boars head compared to Food Lions Deli it’s worth it to make the trip to HT when we want a deli meat for only that purpose.
The veggies at Harris Teeter turn soft in a day- I’ve given them numerous chances and they continued to fail. Food Lion far surpassed the fresh vegetables overall.
Food Lion was not as good in Florida and I had switched to Publix several years back. But the price difference was significant. That may have changed.

Julie

December 11, 2015 at 10:41 pm

Couldn’t read your article bc there is a huge bar on the left side of my screen asking me to to share. Ugh

Dave

February 6, 2016 at 12:57 pm

I agree! I had to switch to the ole desktop just to read the article! Seems like a web design flaw for android.(kinda funny that Ande is a web designer lol)

I think, You should visit groceryaust.com.au which provides best & cheap groceries in all over australia.It delivers to your doorstep does not matter you are retailers,individuals,convenience store. Most important thing is that they ask every week by calling if you need any stock or not. You must visit http://www.groceryaust.com.au/

GIA is an Australian owned company that employs a team with extensive experience in the FMCG sector.

Products are developed in consultation with the needs of today’s marketplace and are researched and developed for quality, price and brand positioning.

Can you tell us more about this? I’d care to find out some additional
information.

Rik Barnes

September 9, 2014 at 11:16 am

Tuesday Sept. 9, 2014

I shop Walmart for food. We have two here in Greenville, North Carolina, and soon will have several Walmart Express stores. I shop mainly at the one on East 10th Street because the prices are lower overall than the prices at the Food Lion, also on 10th. I still shop at Food Lion occasionally.

I’m on food stamps and my financial situation is roughly $8800 annually from a combination of Social Security and Supplemental Income payments so I have accomplish thrifty living.

Rik

Rik Barnes

Barbara

March 5, 2013 at 4:32 pm

I like to shop at all of the grocery stores and when it comes to quality, it doesn’t matter to me what the cost but I always look to see where the product that I am buying comes from and since so much is shipped from overseas, I don’t buy those products. Harris Teeter and Publix are my main stores, followed by BI-LO and Trader Joe’s. I don’t shop at Aldi or Food Lion even though they may have lower prices, most of their goods are shipped from somewhere else. I never buy canned vegetables. If I cannot buy fresh, I try to shop for frozen vegetables, and then only depending on where they are from.

Violet Gottstein

February 16, 2013 at 10:05 am

I buy certain things at Aldi, like fresh vegetables, milk, cereal, some canned goods, staples like flour, sugar, and realize they cannot keep everything I need, so then I go a few blocks to Walmart and get the rest.

Hands down, Aldi is the best for the money.

AL

February 15, 2013 at 11:28 pm

ALDI cheaper than all of them. Owns TRADER JOE They are private label, but give your money back (3 times for us) on items we frlt were not as good as trader joe’s.
More then15% cheaper then WALLY WORLD. They sell in cycles, asia-one week-mexican the next- then german on and on. ALMOND MILK IS $1.00 cheaper then anywhere.
Some things are so-so. Return and learn.

[…] the remaining three chain stores, follow this link to a great store comparison by Ande Truman. Her price comparison reveals Wal-Mart as the winner […]

HB

November 17, 2011 at 4:56 pm

If you are going to just buy, Harris Teeter is not your choice. However, if you coupon Harris Teeter is the best hands down. My grocery budget has been cut by 40% over Food Lion or Walmart.

Liz

November 16, 2011 at 4:49 pm

Here, Aldi is the cheapest all-around store, but it has limited selection. I still get the best prices by going to a butcher shop and produce store.
Liz
Western Mass

Jason

November 16, 2011 at 4:01 pm

Excellent article! I love trader joes. Also, I have to say that the quality of store might vary from region to region. Harris Teeter in Crystal City, VA is gross. But I have been to quite a few nice Harris Teeters. I have yet to see a bad trader joes though…not to mention it is smaller and easier to get in and out of than walmart and the people are MUCH nicer but that’s mainly because they pay them well and give great benefits.